Letters

Header Question
To the Editor:
"Sizing Up Wood Headers" by
Robert Randall (4/92) is a good and
useful article. One question though:
What is the load factor of the
building addition drawn below?
Johan Bouwer
Waterloo, Ontario
Robert Randall responds:
The situation in the sketch is a load
factor 25, functionally the same as the
upper left case in the load factor table
published. Half of the load of your roof
span (indicated by "W" in the
illustration) bears on the header. There
are no floor loads involved. However,
a case such as this must be approached
with caution because you are adding
loads to the existing wall. Wall
framing, attachment details, and any
headered openings in the existing wall
must be